:
For the World War II general, see Hermann Balck. For the American bishop, see Victor Hermann Balke.Hermann Balk (died March 1239), also known as
Hermann von Balk or
Hermann Balke, was a
Knight-Brother of the
Teutonic Order and its first
Landmeister, or Provincial Master, in both
Prussia and
Livonia. From 1219-27, he served as the
Deutschmeister in the Order's Province of
Alemannia. Balk led the crusaders during the
Prussian Crusade and became Master of Prussia in 1230. From 1237-38, he also served in the additional role as Master of Livonia.
Life
Balk came from a family of
Lower Saxon-
Markish origin. He may have been a former canon at
Hildesheim and may have joined the Teutonic Knights at
Acre in 1189. He was well-respected by fellow
Roman Catholics, but he had no patience for pagans.
[Urban, p. 55] His leadership and traditions were emulated by his successors throughout the 13th century, and he created the master's seal presenting the
flight into Egypt. While all other masters' seals were anonymous, only Balk's included his name.
In 1226, the Teutonic Knights were invited to combat the
Old Prussians by Duke
Conrad I of
Masovia, whose lands had been raided by the pagans over the preceding decades. Balk led the first substantial detachment of Teutonic Knights to Castle Vogelsang near
Toruń. The master allegedly negotiated the
Treaty of Kruszwica with Conrad in 1230, by which the Teutonic Knights would control
Culmerland and future conquests instead of them passing to the Masovian duke or Bishop
Christian of Oliva;
the arrangement was similar to what had been agreed upon by Emperor
Frederick II in the 1226
Golden Bull of Rimini.
Granted the titles of
Landpfleger[Seward, p. 101] (
per Sclavoniam et Prusiam preceptor) and
Landmeister, Balk led the Teutonic Knights during the conquests of Culmerland,
Pomesania, and northern
Warmia in the first decade of the
Prussian Crusade, the 1230s. Because the Teutonic Order's primary focus was defending
Outremer, Balk, the "
Pizarro of the Baltic lands",
had limited resources at his disposal. He utilized
guerilla warfare, forest ambushes, and his white-cloaked cavalry in winter campaigns; the master crossed the
Vistula in 1231 to hang a Prussian chief from a sacred oak tree. Balk allowed tribes who accepted Christianity to become auxiliaries of the Teutonic Knights and left them with their lands, while tribes that remained pagan were defeated and expelled.
Ballistae and
crossbows were used by the crusaders to capture the Prussians' forts.
Under Balk's leadership, castles were built at
Marienwerder (Kwidzyn),
Culm (Chełmno),
Elbing (Elbląg), and
Thorn (Toruń). The master encouraged the settlement of
German colonists near Teutonic
Ordensburg castles; the
municipal privileges granted to Culm and Toruń on
28 December 1233 by Balk and Grand Master
Hermann von Salza became the basis for
Culm law, which was later applied to other developing towns in Prussia.
The
Livonian Brothers of the Sword, a German military order active in
Livonia, were crushed by
Samogitians in the 1236
Battle of Saule. The remnants of the Sword-Brothers were assimilated into the Teutonic Order the following year, and Balk was given the charge of reorganizing the new brethren. He recruited sixty knights from the Teutonic Order's
north German convents, as they spoke the
Low German used by the Sword-Brothers. After sailing to
Riga, he distributed his troops to reinforce the countryside. At
Stensby in 1238, Balk returned
Danish Estonia, which had been conquered by the Sword-Brothers, to King
Valdemar II of Denmark. The upset Livonian Brethren refused to cooperate with Balk, who traveled to
Italy to seek aid from Grand Master Hermann von Salza and
Pope Gregory IX. Balk received little assistance, as Gregory IX was feuding with Emperor Frederick II and Hermann von Salza died in
Salerno.
Dietrich von Grüningen was named Master of Livonia later in 1238, and Balk died at
Würzburg in
Franconia the next year.
Because of his leadership in the conquest and
Christianization of the region, many
West Prussian towns had monuments and fountains dedicated to Balk.
Footnotes
